percentage has gone down since the cold war. even the obama administration said the cuts required by a sequestration would have the devastating effect on our defense. john: they always say that. >> the war and iraq and afghanistan could cost $5 trillion after it is added up. in addition and it has not made us safer. irg we've safe if we are the policemen of the world? >> ambassador bull 10 you think we are? >> how can tey afford this? >> we're not talking iraq activity with intent but protect american interests. it will have us effect on the american economy. if we don't insure stability than the entire picture darkens considerably 87 it is like the automatic pilot. >> absolutely not. we can see with the battle of sequestration dramatic cuts will occur that almost nobody republican are democrats don't want. that is not automatic. john: the "washington post" headline obama cuts defense down to the bone? there is talk. we have the inflation adjusted chart. obama false light the then flat to. how was that to the bone? anything beyond the three years is fantasy. what we talk about and then

added the obama administration was determined to fix the nation's immigration policies. the prime minister of israel and palestinian president addressed the united nations general assembly. mahmoud ahmadinejad wants the u.n. to recognize palestine as an observer state. netanyahu is expected to talk about the threat from iran's nuclear program. and yesterday egyptian's new president spoke. >> reporter: egypt's newly elected president made his first appearance. >> translator: today every egyptian shares a sense of self-confidence. >> reporter: he called for the world to step in to end the violence in syria. >> translator: we have to put an to end this tragedy. it is the tragedy of the age. >> reporter: iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad challenged the dominance of world powers in his final address at the u.n. the united states and israel have pledged to do what they must to prevent tehran from developing nuclear weapons. >> translator: continued threats by the uncivilized zionist to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example of this reality. >> reporter

night. ryan joked, quote, i half think these refs work part-time for the obama administration in the budget office. >>> mitt romney had kind words for bill clinton yesterday, saying a few nice words from bill clinton can do a lot of good, he said. and he joked that he would wait for his clinton bounce in the polls. >>> and mr. romney's wife, ann, was on the "tonight show" with jay leno talking about his husband's plans for america's future and she explained to jay how she feels about mitt running for president. >> four years ago i made a videotape and on the videotape, i looked in the camera and he said, mitt, this is for you, sweetheart, i'm never doing this again. >> well, jay also asked ann romney if mitt is a good dancer. she replied he's gotten to be a better dancer. and that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. >>> elsewhere, missouri republican congressman todd aiken let the deadline to let the senate race pass yesterday without dropping out. he's bound to stay despite pressure within his own party since his legit mate rape comments. last night on the last word with lawr

political consensus. look at what the obama administration is doing right now. it's not that different from what the bush administration did throughout its to terms, especially at the end. given that there is that consensus, that is one of the recent national security is not an issue. it's also why some things are a little more litigious in the national security area. >> this will be the last question. >> any predictions for retirement? >> i need it will depend on who the next president is. obviously we have several justices who are getting older, but i think most of them would feel if they were voluntarily retiring and not forced to do so by health concerns or other circumstances, the honorable thing to do is retiring during the term of the party that a plea to do in the first place. you could seek justice ginsburg -- i think she is trying to make a record for how long she is staying on the court. if president obama is there, we may see her retire. you may see scalia or kennedy retire if we have a president romney. it makes a huge shift in the court based on the next preside

with a fox news alert. new fallout over the obama administration's changing narrative of those deadly attacks on our consulate in libya. in the middle of the growing storm, squarely is the u.s. ambassador is the united nations susan rice. almost two weeks ago she claimed the assault was a spontaneous protest that spun out of control. white house officials admitting it was a coordinated terrorist attack. speaking earlier on fox news, peter king says rice should step down over this. >> the person that was out there. the person that was going to get all the glory, all the morning shows was ambassador rice. to send a clear message to the world and to american people this will not be tolerated, she should resign but also should investigate and find out how high up this went. >> gregg: welcome to a brand-new hour. i'm gregg jarrett. >> heather: i'm heather childers. a new debate rages in washington. what did white house officials know and when did they know it. demand for answers into the shifting accounts coming not just from republicans but lawmakers from both sides of the aisle. a

very much? >> thank you. >> gregg: contradictory accounts over a tragedy, obama administration officials not all on the same page when it comes to explaining the deadly attack on our consulate in benghazi libya. does somebody need to be held accountable? we'll ask john bolton. she deck next. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you engineer a true automotive breakthrough? ♪ you give it bold new styling, unsurpassed luxury and nearly 1,000 improvements. introducing the redesigned 2013 glk. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. through mercedes-benz extra curricular activities help provide a sense of identity and a path to success. joining the soccer team. getting help with math. going to prom. i want to learn to swim. it's hard to feel normal, when you can't do the normal things. to help, sleep train is collecting donations for the extra activities that, for most kids, are a normal part of growing up. not everyone can be a foster parent... but anyone can help a foster child. >>. >> gregg: obama administration under fire fo

the obama administration. >> this guy knows how to pivot. we went from refs to president obama. >> that's what we were saying this morning. look, that was an interception. anybody who watches that will know. [ whistle ] >> green bay's ball. >> interception. you are smarter than a replacement ref! >> i saw both sides had their hand on the ball as far as i can tell. >> you are not smarter than a replacement ref. i'm sorry. [ buzzer ] >> one day you're working at footlocker and the other you're in the nfl. >> clap if you think it was holding. all right. not bad. okay. now clap if you don't think it was holding. all right. somebody please tell me what holding is. >> you know where they put their whistle. do they know where they put their outfits. >> it's toward to be a football ref when you don't know the football rules. >> number 10. every call you make begins with uh... >> dumb question but what is this? >> number seven can't believe how many player's autographs you're getting. >> holding on the offense number 60 -- 60 um -- all i know is the big black guy. >> you've made six tac

hour. new criticism of the obama administration's handling of the deadly attack on our consulate in libya. some lawmakers are now claiming the white house misled them by calling the assault, a spontaneous protest that spun out of control. this after sources confirm that u.s. intelligence knew the attack was a terrorist attack within the first 24 hours. chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge is live in washington with more on this. catherine, when we say some lawmakers are making this claim we're referring to high-ranking republicans. what about the democrats? is this bipartisan this criticism in nature? >> reporter: it is now, jenna. good morn. late thursday we had a letter from the senate foreign relations committee, it is pa bipartisan letter and sent to the deputy secretary of state asking about more information in the security situation in benghazi and what they are doing to mitigate the threat and what they knew about the growing threat of al qaeda and islamist militias in the eastern libya. as well as the overrunning of the missions in egypt and also in yemen of t

libya are driven out of the region and defeated. the obama administration is being overwhelmed by predic predictableable events. jenna: what do you mean by that? >> when qaddafi falls it is predictable that radical islamists will try to fill in the vacuum. you have 30,000 people take to the streets to mourn chris stevens. i've been to libya. most people in libya want to live in peace with us and have prosperity. the islamists got 10% of at ballot box in libya. now they have taken to bullets, not the ballot box. it was predictable they would try to undermined this government. it was predictable they would attack the american interests. clearly the obama administration had a hands-off approach when it comes to libya. jenna: were fairly optimistic though. >> i'm still optimistic. if we had a president who understood the arab spring and we don't. jenna: what do you think on this one event, what do you think the message is being sent to islamists that you mentioned. whether militants, terrorists extremists however we to characterize them what is the message being sent in our response t

political consensus. you just look at what the obama administration is doing. it is not that different. given that there is that consensus, it is also one of the reasons why it is in the national security area. >> this will be our last question. >> any predictions for retirement at the end of the term? >> a lot would depend on who the next president is. we have several justices who are getting older. the honorable thing to do is seen as being retiring during the term. you can see her now that she has accomplished. she tries to make a record. she will accomplish that in 2014. if president obama is there macy scalia or kennedy retire. it makes a huge potential shift in the court based on the next president. he could have one or two or three additional nominees. that we give you president obama the opportunity to appoint the majority of the members of the supreme court. or it will give president romney the chance to possibly shift the balance. anyone replacing justice kennedy was certainly affect the balance, make it a solid liberal are solidly conservative court. >> he said retirement du

we need more rigorous immigration enforcement one of the reasons why the obama administration embraced it, but it's all about how these things are represented and what they're obligated to say when your pants down. do you believe in enforcing these laws been problematic are not? and when you say -- the whole idea of the. >> translator: is that these aren't the good kids. many -- i think they're right. it doesn't mean that they're a bad kid. community college or maybe you have got in trouble when you're a teenager. i think there is something very disingenuous about the debate we have around us, but of course that is because advocates of destruction debate in the certain white. this is rooted in any kind of believes that our prior to the way that we actually structure the conversation. i think that advocates have structured the conversation very advantageous sleep. >> a couple more questions in the month to cut off. i was wondering if you could and testimonials in terms of looking forward toward the democratic party strength. >> and also the gentleman over there. >> thank you. thanks to

between the obama administration and the government of mexico about how to get food stamps paid for can a lola and myselves. two illegal aliens coming across the border and what do you think about that? >> it's insane. first off, it's weird. i mean, there is 46 million people on food stamps and, yet, every kid is morbidly obese. it's a weird combination. it's a weird time we are living, in number one. and number two, they should be called the fat and the furious pretty slick, huh, bill? >> bill: very nice. >> i know you like that. do the math. and, look, somebody said well, is he just trying to get votes? my question is i don't know. >> bill: illegal aliens can't vote. can't be a vote play. >> you are building a constituency latino community might be appreciative of the la jess coming into the community. they don't make most of them distinction between people who are hungry and legal or illegal if you are hungry you should get control. this thing is so far out of control it boggles the mind. all about social justice what we talked about at the top of the program. it's so far out of

embassy was simply one example of the way that obama and the administration have treated the middle east as a way to say we're really nice to you if we try to sweet talk them out of their weapons, if we refuse to support the revolution against the campaign, lead from behind in the area we are going to be liked and everything will be nice. so the problem i have here is obama very vulnerable. remember, this is the one election where he is ahead on the issue of foreign affairs: democrats are usually way behind. why? because usama bin laden is dead. so a week before the eruption of this anti-americanism. the democrats spend a week in charlotte touting the bin laden raid. and a way of saying, you know, we have now fixed the problem. these demonstrations are a complete demolition and they are a a way to refute the whole idea that this has been an effective policy. romney should have seize the opportunity. >> bill: and run with it. back to you and i said this to pat caddell, the right wing press, talk radio, people who really don't like president obama have been running with this libya story fo

resonates. if there is any possible outcome is that the obama administration has declined to defend the defense of marriage act. and governor romney may well decide that he would defend the constitutionality of that statute could but it does not seem that that kind of social conservative question has a lot of salience in something like a presidential debate. so other than health care, i do not see much happening. >> i think it will not happen. and here's why. no major national political figure has attacked affirmative action publicly since 1996 or before. it isind of remarkable. the republicans who, during the 1990's for a while, we're seeing some sort of political profit attacking affirmative action given the polls don't do it anymore. and the democrats, john kerry coming nearly 1990's, joe lieberman in the early 1990's and others, said maybe this time to stop these racial preferences. the democratic leadership council was inching down that road. but that has all gone. i have spoken with republican politicians. why is that? and the answer was that we get so demonized if we ever raise o

into flames last month in california. the reason a recalled battery. >>> recently the obama administration made public release of prisoners from guantanamo bay. time served at gitmo is becoming a badge of honor and for many it has been a training ground for waging more terror against america. katherine herridge is in washington with more. >> heather and patti ann about 1 in 3 detainees return to the battlefield if they are released. many have senior positions within al qaeda or one of the affiliates. >> the libyan identified his guantanamo by determined number 557 is the leading suspect in the benghazi consulate. time at gitmo can be like a badge of honor giving them street cred even rock star status. there'sal shir ry who spent nearly 6 years in guantanamo. he is the deputy leader of al qaeda in yemen. they dee down-play the guantanamo effect. >> given higher status in some terrorist groups but probably not in the best position to accurately characterize that. i think it's probably safe to say some of them do acquire some degree of status but i am not sure it's widespread.

half billion dollars in civilian aid of the five years at the beginning of the obama administration. if i understand correctly touch and projectiles at the time the amount but if i understand this correctly this was a deeply idealistic effort to try to say we are not only going to give money, were not only going to have an impact with a fairly large civilian assistance program to balance, if you will, are ongoing military commitment to pakistan, but we're also going to set up a structure or relationship through what was generally called a strategic partnerships to try to make -- to break out of that pattern. after 2008-9, those of you who knew richard holbrooke knew that the hurricane hit pakistan and there was a set of very ambitious kamal of government if you will pools and structures that were put in to try to build a long-term commitment to pakistan. i use long term advisedly. the counter-terrorism effort, post september 11th. by its very nature, by almost the element of the way people understand was by its nature short-term. good to kill bad guys. this was to balance that short-ter

eruption of anger at an anti-islam film. the obama administration has since reversed that appraisal and now calls it a well coordinated terrorist attack. but questions have mounted over the shifting assessments. and today two republican congressmen, oversight committee chairman darrell issa of california and jays leveled new allegations. in a letter to secretary of state clinton, they charged washington rejected multiple requests for security improvements at been gas emission. they base their assertions on unidentified sources described as multiple u.s. federal government officials. the state department spokeswoman said the secretary would respond in writing this very day. >> her response is going to be relatively succinct today, as i said, expressing her complete commitment to work with the congress to get fully to the bottom of this. but i don't anticipate she'll be able to answer the specific questions today >> warner: the two congressmen say their committee will hold a hearing next wednesday on the libya attack. meanwhile the f.b.i. has sent a team to libya to determine just wha

obama administration rightly has leveled a direct attack on their ability to be catholic. that is not going to pass unnoticed in states like ohio, michigan, pennsylvania where the catholic vote is huge and motivated and not happy with president obama. secondly, that chick-fil-a story , this has just begun to roll out, but everyone already knows about it. .. >> the third story i asked about was the 1.5% gdp growth, the horrible growth number, and, again, less than half a percent. the chick-fil-a story was just a day ole. everybody heard about chick-fil-a. it was one of those stories that moves by social media, by e-mail, by tfn, and conversation about the church peat owe, in a group like this, or your friends, and it outrages people. it outrages even supporters of same-sex marriage. it outrages, as i had on the radio show today, gay people. they don't want people bullied over their religious faith, and when rahm tries to beat up the keys of chick-fil-a or the mayor of boston or san fransisco, those are democrat friends of the president, and the president didn't say stop. it's the presi

know of any practical, it would be the point that the obama administration defends the defense of marriage act and president romney will defend the constitutionality, but it doesn't seem that social conservative question has a lot of allotted salience in some unlike a presidential debate. so i think other than health care i see much happening. >> i think it will not happen. and here is why. no major national political figure has attacked affirmative action publicly since 1996 or before. it is kind of remarkable. the republicans during the 90s for a while were seen some political profit in attacking affirmative action given the polls. don't do it anymore and the democrats, john kerry and the early 90s, joe lieberman in the early 90s and others said maybe it is time to stop these racial preferences. the democratic leadership council was inching down that road. but that is all gone. i've spoken to republican politicians, why is that? the answer is we get so if we ever raise their voices against affirmative action it is just not worth the cost, not worth the hassle. part of it ironica

administration, 7.7%, and during the nl .5 years of the obama administration from only 1.5%. i agree that the federal government is too vague, big, but i think you are laying that in the wrong era. what i believe is that small businesses do go from entrepreneurial spirit. there is no question. we have been very successful. but even as we started telling that story, who built the roads and bridges and highways. practical people, commonsense new common sense new hampshire voters understand that we have had these states come in and they don't want any government at all. don't drive on the highways. it is the reality -- the reality is an educated workforce that is primarily from the public schools, the public university, from the technical colleges, public and private partnership. that is what i spent my career doing. bringing people together. the nonprofit communities and to give sense that it's necessary to have legislation, often it is not. the two projects that i like to work on are the medication bridge program in the college savings program. neither of those required any government

great. >> president obama accused china of unfairly subsidizing cars. has administrations done enough to protect businesses against unfair trade practices in china? >> this is my concern. they could do more. i'm glad they jumped 10 on tires, cars, but i am concerned hampshire losing 16,000 jobs. congressman bass is on record with the special trade deal with china. >> the white house could do more. >> i think that vote was over a decade ago it shows that china plays by our rules. but issues of the currency debate should be resolved and i condemn this administration doing virtually nothing proactive to do with china competition. >> proposed cutting saturday service to save money for the postal service? >> guy break with my colleagues. the biggest problem it basis is miscalculation on retirement contribution. once that is put aside use of the postal service running at a loss. we should have a combination of reducing service also changing the structure of the rates so they're more competitive. >> my answer is no. >> the next round questions comes from phil vaughn. >> how do define middle-

maintain the same point the romney campaign had, that the obama administration is getting rid of the work requirement. what i thought that showed was the importance of fact checkers in this campaign. i really think, and brandon and glenn and i were talking about how things are different this time compared to 2008. there is more fact checking than ever, and the fact checking has a much greater prominence this time. candidates are being asked about it. i got a call from cnn last night -- they had asked mitt romney in a interview about how the fact checkers had looked at that and other ads. this year, more than ever, there is fact checking. this year, more than ever, fact checking is playing a role in the campaign. i think the survey indicates that people are better educated when they come to our site. in addition, the rest of the media is talking about our work in great ways. i think that when you look back on this election, we will say, this was the year of the fact checker. this was the year that fact checking really hit critical mass. let me get to predictions -- i think this wi

rigorous immigration enforcement. that's why the obama administration embraced the. it's about how all these things represent and what are you obligate to say when you're pinned down. do you believe in enforcing these laws, or not? the thing is when you say, the whole idea of the dream act is that well, these are the good kids. let's attack the interest of the good kids. advocates will say, i think there are, it doesn't mean you're a bad kid if you're in community college or it may be got in trouble if you're a teenager and your criminal record, it doesn't make you a bad person and i think there's something very disingenuous about the debate. that's of course advocates want to structure the debate in a certain way. i don't know how much of this is rooted in any kind of beliefs prior to the way that we actually structure the conversation. i do think that advocates have structured the conversation very advantageously which is their job. >> thank you. >> just a couple more questions and then we'll have to cut it off. so maybe back there. and also to your right. >> hi. i was wondering if y

reporting about how maybe the obama administration stories shifted in all of that and maybe if you don't already like obama, maybe that will help inform your choice of whether to vote for him, but not it seems lately because it's given you the information or the tools to think about what ought to happen in libya or what our policy and let the ought to be to really come to praise and foreign policy coverage as character coverage. i think those categories in a way get confused. you have separated them out, but it's -- or we learned about the world when we read that article or are we learning about whether mitt romney cares about the little guy or about whether obama is brave? i think it is a tricky question because you might indeed get the information that you feel you need to know to vote for this person or that person. but there's also the other little issue about learning about the articles are about more about the actual problems in the world beyond the election might be coming and i don't think that the character thing is negligible. it is important if somebody cares about the little

talked-about the obama administration and strategic shift to the asia-pacific region during his remarks at the wilson center. >> great introduction. more about challis at the moment. thanks to npr and the woodrow wilson center. i just left jane harman for those in the pentagon and she is everything right now secretary panetta, a member of the defense policy board on iran. actually. she wasn't able to be here but she is a wonderful leader at the institution. recognize her as well. mr. ambassador, all members of the diplomatic community are here, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, really wonderful to be here to celebrate the launch of this year's addition of strategic asia. our mission to strengthen the asia pacific policy through research is one that is close to my heart. i share npr's conviction that facts and ideas matter in the public realm. and b are's research helps us understand the world and make decisions within it. for the publications you produce, meetings you convene, scoop jackson would have been proud of your impact. i have known many people at nbr for decades. rich

getting their oil? china. >> eric: now we have credible sources say that the obama administration knew it was preplanned within 24 hours after the death of the ambassador. yet susan rice, jay cancer oh, several obama officials going out saying it was a response to the movie. is this a cover-up? >> they lie. there is no question about it. by the way, if the republicans did that, there would be hell to pay. everybody would call for resignations and it would be terrible. but they lie. everybody knew they were lying. they knew almost immediately because it was obviously an attack. this had nothing to do with that stupid nieces made and it was stupid and it was ridiculous. but they lie. they've been lying for years now. they get away with it and the press allows them to get away with it. >> steve: so you're very clear, there are people who are lying about it in the white house. but -- >> they knew they were lying. i mean, they were saying it with a very straight face and they knew they were lying and certainly after the first 24 hours, it became the big lie and they kept doing it and the pr

, most of the last four years under the obama administration. so, before we chat, mr. stein, i do need to play this follow-up clip, the vice president, you know, coming back and explaining his comment. this was later in asheville. >> the middle class was buried by the policies of romney and that ryan supported. as bill clinton, all they're suggesting now when asked about this and he's the best, he made the comment, he said, what they're proposing is bush economic policies on steroids. that's what this is. >> on the flip side, ben, you have the mitt romney secretly taped comments, the 47%, what does he do? what does he need to do to overcome this perception, he's this rich guy out to help the rich? >> first of all, we had lots of very rich presidents who have been helpful. fdr was one of the richest men in the country. his family ate off gold plates. john f. kennedy was one of the very richest people in america. he was a very fine president. the fact that lbj was fantastically rich, a fine president. the fact that they're rich doesn't mean they're bad presidents. not in the slightest. i

carry me that the obama administration has declined to defend, the defense of marriage act. and president romney might well decide that he would defend the constitutionality of the statute, but it does not seem that that kind of social conservative question has a lot of civilians in something like a presidential debate. i think it will, other than health care, i can't see much happening. >> i think it -- i think it will not happen. and here's why. no major national political figure has attacked affirmative-action publicly since 1996 or four. it is kind of remarkable. the republicans to during the 90's for a while we're seeing some political profit in attacking affirmative action given the poll's don't do anymore. the democrats said maybe it's time to stop these racial preferences. the democratic council was inching down that road. but that's all gone. and i have spoken to republican politicians. why is that? and the answer was, we get so demonized if we ever raised voices against affirmative action. it's just not worth the cost, not worth the hassle. i think part of it, ironical

quality i believe in competition. obama: if i could just respond very quickly. every study is shown there's lower administrative costs than private insurance does, which is why seniors are generally pretty happy with it. and private insurers have to make a profit. nothing wrong with that. that's what they do. and so, you've got higher administrative costs plus profit on top of that. and if you are going to save any money through what governor romney is proposing, what has to happen is that the money has to come from somewhere. and when you move to a voucher system, you are putting seniors that the mercy of those insurance companies and over time the traditional medicare has decayed or fallen apart, then they are stuck. and this is why the recent aarp has said that your plan would weaken medicare substantially. and that is why they were supportive of the approach that we took it one last point i want to make. we do have to lower the cost of health care. not just in medicare, but overall. romney: that's a big topic. >> moderator: want to get to it. romney: let's get back to medicare.

for obama. host: any questions for governor romney? caller: no, i like the way that he speaks. i think we need a change in this administration. we have had four years of terrible policy and i do not think the president's is telling the american people the truth. look at what happened in been gauzy. that is my comment. host: front page of "usa today," susan page reporting. host: here is what mitt romney could say, to convince people, according to a "usa today" poll. host: what could president obama do, according to this poll? host: lal, tracy landing, michigan. democratic line. good morning. caller: laurel? host: go right ahead. welcome to the show. caller, thank you. my question to obama -- why have you not allowed anyone to say one word about your college and high-school record? there is something there that is hidden and it makes me never willing to vote for you. it is scandalous. america, vote your conscience so the weekend of hold american values. host: this message from twitter -- host: the next is lowest, memphis, tennessee. caller: everyone is asking obama questions, but i

stand-down that ha just been lifted. it was last week when the administration noted that the 33,000 american troops that had been sent in there some two years ago, a little bit less than two years ago as part of the surge authored by president obama had come out. the president never ceases to point out on the campaign trail and elsewhere, that he has ended the war in iraq, has ended the war in afghanistan, two years hence u.s. combat troops are expected to be pulled out of a afghanistan in 2014. so obviously this presents some problems as well as the grim facts on the ground. with these horrific green-on-blue attacks. >> how much does the president anticipate the war in afghanistan will play into the debates on wednesday? >> it's a mixed bag at this point. the president as i pointed out, frequently pointing out that he has a plan to bring american troop combat troops out of afghanistan by the end of 2014. he's talked about his success in bringing american combat troops out of iraq. he's talking about some of the successes up until recently. in endorsing the arab spring in libya and

stone oil pipe line halted by the obama administration. >> i'm going to get that pipe line from canada if i have to build it myself. >> paul ryan was greeted by his family in iowa before kicking off a bus tour in dubuque where he emphasized the importance of the debates. >> we're entering the debate phase, the choice phase of this campaign. and this choice is ever so clear. >> president obama is hunkering down in nevada preparing for his one-on-one confrontation with romney, keeping a more low key schedule in a las vegas suburb. the president did make a brief appearance at campaign office where he delivered pizza and called and thanked volunteers. >> the work is making all the difference. >> he joked hu he is preparing. >> basically they are keeping me indoors. it's a drag. they are making me do my homework. >> romney aides play down expectations, new jersey governor chris christie continued to ramp them up. >> it's a huge night. a bad couple of weeks and we want to turn this around. if you want to turn it around, you got to perform on the biggest stage. >> speaking of turning a

pipeline halted by the obama administration. >> by the way, i'm going to get that pipeline from canada if i have to build it myself. >> reporter: romney's running mate paul ryan was greeted by his family in iowa before kicking off a bus tour in dubuque where he emphasized the importance of the upcoming debates. >> we are entering the debate phase, the choice phase of this campaign, and this choice is ever so clear. >> reporter: president obama is hunkering down in nevada preparing for his one-on-one confrontation with romney, keeping a much more low key pre-debate schedule in a las vegas suburb. the president did make a brief appearance at a local campaign office where he delivered pizzas and called and thanked volunteers. >> the work that you're doing is making all the difference. >> reporter: and he joked about how he's preparing for the debate. >> basically they are keeping me indoors all the time. it's a drag. they are making me do my homework. >> reporter: while romney aides continue to play down expectations for the debate, new jersey governor chris christie continued to ramp them u

. >> we brought more trade cases against china in one term than the previous administration did in two. by the way, we've been winning those cases. >> wednesday, president obama and mitt romney meet in their first presidential debate. the news hour's jim lehrer moderates from the university of denver. watch and engage with c-span with the live debate, and followed by two ways to watch the debate at 9:00 o'clock, on c-span, both candidates on screen, the entire debate and on c-span2, the multi-camera version of the debate and following, your reactions, calls, e-mails, tweets. fog our live coverage on c-span, c-span radio, and online at c-span.org. >> >> the book is "third party matters" and joining from us tamper kwrarbgs florida is the author donald green. appreciate you being with us on c-span. guest: thank you. host: when have third parties made the biggest difference in american politics? guest: well, i think they've been -- there have been over 103rd parties since 1832. my book focuses on 11 parties i feel have made a difference. the two most significant parties in a sense are the